Diamond Dove is a dark brown with subtle cool undertones. It has good color payoff, but it is definitely a drier matte, so you may or may not like that type of texture (it’s more like most of MAC’s matte finishes–not at all like the Matte2 finish). This has a matte finish. Tarina Tarantino Wonderful is a slightly less gray brown in the palette. MAC Brun is grayer. MAC Copperplate is a bit lighter and much grayer. It’s a bit darker than MAC Double Feature 3.

Early Bird is a medium coral-pink. This has a matte finish. The color payoff is good, but again, it is a drier matte, which you may love or hate. If you didn’t like working with MAC Free to Be (which is a bit darker but otherwise very similar), I doubt you’ll like this one. They’re both fairly dry. I actually found this to need more packing on the lid (I think to apply it to my inner third of the lid, I applied five or six times to get true-to-pan intensity). Inglot #361 is also similar.

Howzat is a bluish gray with a sheen. This has a satin finish. I didn’t like it the first time it came out, nor the second, and I still think it’s subpar. The color payoff is terrible with a really dry, stiff texture that’s just not worth the effort. MAC Interior Life is similar but more matte.

Robin’s Egg is a bluish-teal. This has a matte finish. This is the type of color that’s going to look bluer/greener depending on the colors you pair it with but your underlying skin tone will have an affect, too. For instance, warmer complexions will probably see this as more of a teal shade, while cooler complexions may find it turns bluer. The texture of this is different than the other matte eyeshadows–it’s much softer, not quite as soft as Matte2 finishes, but still softer and much easier to work with. It’s similar to MAC Double Feature 3 and Inglot #372.

Silver Gull is a pale, neutral-toned gray with silver sparkle. This has a velvet finish. The base color has more of a matte finish, while the sparkle lies on top of the product, which does cause significant fall out (even just swatching, the sparkle doesn’t bind with the actual color). It’s also on the sheerer side and a bit powdery. Guerlain Les Ombres de Nuit has a slightly similar gray. Unfortunately, I couldn’t think of any other dupes.

These are some of the better single eyeshadows I’ve seen from MAC since Surf Baby (which was an exceptional set!). I think what will sway you is simply how you prefer your matte finishes–if you like them drier, more consistent with most of MAC’s matte range, you’ll like these. If you prefer softer, denser, almost buttery mattes, these are not like those. In my experience, drier mattes perform just as well as more buttery ones once you apply them, but it’s in a quick swatch that you might find the major discrepancy. I wore Early Bird, Robin’s Egg, and Silver Gull to test out the wear of these, and I did have fall out issues with Silver Gull (which also required packing of color to get it to show). Robin’s Egg is the easiest to work with, because it’s soft and very pigmented–so you don’t need a lot of it, and you can easily blend it out, too.

MAC Early Bird on inner third of lid, MAC Silver Gull on center of lid, MAC Robin’s
Egg on outer lid and crease–thought I’d attempt to put both coral and teal together;
not so successful but fun to try! (And let me test out the wear of these three!)

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72 Comments

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And I also have double feature 3 what is the difference between the blue here and the blue in double feature 3?
hard to tell without side by side comparison when you’re clicking the other shade and back to this page thanks

It could definitely work, but you could probably find a better coral blush (I’m thinking Illamasqua if you want something matte) or opting with a MUFE eyeshadow (as their eyeshadows/blushes are the same).

I like the colors, but I think I can skip all of these eye shadows. I already have Howzat and shades that are similar enough to the other shadows. This is a pretty fun collection, though. I like the bird names and the mix of neutral and bright colors.

I was interested in picking up Early Bird and Robin’s Egg but considering the texture and that I have never really worked with mattes do you think these shades are worth getting?
And by the way I love that look! It’s so different and unique:)

Early Bird will be mine! I’m calling my MAC store this afternoon with a list of products to hold from this line and the Naturally line. The heartbreak from not getting the products I wanted in the Wonder Woman collection will never happen to me again!!!! And I think you did a pretty nifty job of blending the teal and coral. I like it ^_^ THANK YOU FOR SHARING AND FEEDING MY ADDICTION! I’m a lip liner away from a 12 step program.

Ooh Im definitely going to need to get my hands on the Diamond Dove. I love that color I think it might be my go to crease color! I am so thankful for your blog post Christine… even though my bank account isn’t LOL

Ok I know is silly but I read your comment on Diamond Dove texture and Robin’s egg is lovely… yay for mattes!
It maybe be my laptop screen but Diamond Dog looks like an exact dupe for Inglot #363, my favourite cool brown. I really like my MACs (when they say brown I think Espresso), but I don’t see a difference between MAC and Inglot’s quality, so I’m just saying, if you like the shade, there’s a dupe easier to work with, and more affordable too.
BTW, I’m really liking Naturally and I. Apfel, I know they’re not the most original collections shade-wise, but the colours are really wearable for me and I trust your reviews when you say quality it’s good (have to check after falling for a couple MAC quads).

I know darn well I should skip these because I have similar colors, but I can’t help wanting them. I have Mufe shadows similar to the coral and teal Mac shadows and I have several brown shades by Mac that match the brown in this collection, but I keep looking at these things!

Pft, I think your e/s look looks gorgeous! Silver Gull and Robin’s Egg go beautifully together. Don’t know if I can make the textures work for me (always had trouble with mattes, bah), but the shades are beautiful.

Hi Christine!
How does robin’s egg compare to surf USA from the surf baby collection? Hope you have a safe and happy new year! Thanks for all your hard work this year, it’s sooo helpful, and I truly appreciate all you do 🙂

Hey Christine! Thanks for the great reviews ad swatches as usual. Those colors look really interesting to me and I am definitely going to take alook at them. Do you think that Diamond Dove is similar to MAC Handwritten in both color and texture?

I just ordered silver gull before I’d read your review on it, I’m really regretting now since I really hate dry chalky colors. I wanted kind off a almost sheer glossy light silver/blue color but I just haven’t found it yet. Would you recommend the mac digit eyeshadow, I’m just a little worried since its in the purple category?

If Tilt was still around, I think that would have been perfect. Digit isn’t blue at all – definitely purple!

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